Faeces and maggots have been posted through letterboxes of Whitley flats being terrorised by a gang of child thugs.

Faeces and maggots have been posted through letterboxes of Whitley flats being terrorised by a gang of child thugs.

A group of youths have torched walls, kicked in council tenants' front doors, urinated through letterboxes and left syringes lying around communal areas of the flats in Bamburgh Close on the Hexham Road estate.

The complaints come as security guards employed by Reading Borough Council are preparing to leave the estate tomorrow and have prompted the authority to look at extending their contract.

But people suffering at the hands of the unruly youngsters say the guards have failed to stamp out the problems anyway and the petrified residents now insist they want to leave their homes.

A father of two young children, who wants to remain anonymous to protect his family, said: "I don't sleep at night because I'm on edge listening for what the gang will do next. I'm frightened for the safety of my children.

"When they started chucking stuff through the letterboxes my toddler daughter was the one who found the faeces and the maggots. Luckily she didn't touch them."

On Tuesday the same tot was pushed over by a boy, who then trapped her fingers under a door before threatening to push her mum and their other baby down the stairs.

No one was injured but the family was left badly shaken.

The father said members of the gang regularly spit at his wife and once threatened to push her down the stairs when she was eight months pregnant.

He added that windows and door locks at the flats have been vandalised by the youths, who are believed to be aged between eight and 15.

A council spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the nuisance being caused by a specific group of individuals around Bamburgh Close and we are working with other agencies to tackle the

problem.

"We are sympathetic to residents' concerns and will look whether continuing security on site will help the situation."

But the gang is outfoxing the night watchmen, who travel between estates in Reading and other towns, by working out the times of patrols and making themselves scarce when the guards are in sight.

Neighbours say the gang comes and goes throughout the night. One pensioner, said: "You never know what they will do next. We shouldn't have to live in fear like this because of a bunch of kids."

Police spokesman Sian Hickman urged residents living in the flats to contact the police if crimes were being committed.

She added: "The area beat officer is in constant contact with the residents and will continue to be.